The long and winding road

I mentioned that the distinctive Nanyang University Arch was a landmark in Old Jurong Road. Incidentally, those passengers who did not get off at the Arch bus-stop would find that Old Jurong Road ended by the sea at a village called Tuas.

Tuas Village, famed for its seafood restaurants, no longer exists. The whole area around it is reclaimed land. However, its memory lives on in a number of roads (Tuas Avenues 1-20, Tuas Links 1-4, etc) and, interestingly, a small shopping centre called Tuas Amenity Centre. Will you find seafood restaurants at TuasAmenity Centre?

Of course!

And I would not be surprised if they claimed association with the original eating place (like the ‘JalanKayuRoti Prata’ shops in several places in Singapore).

This tendency to claim heritage status reminds me of the story of the old farmer and his trusty axe. The story goes that he was telling a visitor that the axe was a family heirloom handed down from father to son, from generation to generation, in the last 100 years.

When the visitor heard this he said, “How amazing! 100 years! And this is the very same axe that your great-great-grandfather held in his hands.”

The farmer responded proudly with, “Yes, isn’t it amazing? This very same axe! And in all that time, the axe-head has only been changed twice and the handle three times”.

Re-trievia recalled: Excerpts from Year 2001
Tan Wee Kiat